Category: Life

This was not my plan. I had no intention of participating in Movember:

As an official global charity, Movember’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of millions of mustaches on men’s faces around the world. Through the power of the Mo, vital funds and awareness are raised to combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges.

But when I had not shaved for a few days my wife seized on it and decided that I shouldn’t shave for the whole month in solidarity with the campaign (even though the focus is supposed to be mustaches, thus the “Mo”).

I have to say I haven’t been the best sport about the whole thing. But in my defense I can’t really grow a decent looking beard and it is incredibly itchy and scratchy. So you end up with something that doesn’t look all that good and is annoying to boot.

But my wife and daughter are insistent that I live this particular experiment out and for some reason they won’t accept anything less than no shaving at all for the whole month.

After much grumbling I decided that I might as well carry it through and went ahead and registered. If you feel so inclined you can even donate via Movember.

So if you see me out and about and are wondering what all that scruff is, or you see pictures of me online and have the same question, there is your answer.

Being a fan of the University of Michigan and Pittsburgh Steelers football teams, this has been a rough year for me. Experiencing it in Columbus, Ohio doesn’t make it any easier obviously.

Amongst other things, this has not been easy on my family; particularly my wife. As the frustration grows and my mood sours the tension in the house gets kinda high. Nobody enjoys this. I would like to think I have gotten better about sports as I have aged, and having kids actually makes it better (they are great at distracting you and reminding you what is really important), but I won’t deny it has been a rough year and I have had my share of ruined days.

In light of this, and in the aftermath of Michigan’s ugly and improbable win last night, I promised Lisa I would take her and the kids to the Columbus Museum of Art (which is free on Sundays) instead of sitting around the house and getting grumpy.

What I hadn’t thought about was that the game was actually on TV (Fox because the Lions are NFC). So instead of huddled over the computer following it online while listening to Steeler radio, or going somewhere to watch it, I could watch from the couch on the full screen TV.

When we came home from church I watched the first quarter as the kids changed their clothes, ate lunch, and played. And it started out great. Soon the Steelers were up 14-0 and I was smiling and joking with the kids. And I began to wonder whether Lisa really expected me to sacrifice the joy of a Steelers victory just because I said something about going to the museum last night …

I have a humble confession to make tonight: I forgot to vote. This is something I try very hard not to do. As someone who works in politics and government I believe it is important to vote. As a person who believes in engaged citizenship as a check against bad and overbearing government I realize it is important. And as a Republican living in a difficult district I know it is important to support Republican candidates.

For this particular primary election it is a double failure as a friend and former colleague was on the ballot. Ouch.

As is so often the case, I had good intentions. I remembered it was election day this morning but was late getting my daughter to school and so decided to vote after work. The polling place is just down the street from our house so I was sure to have plenty of time. I even check the Franklin County Republican Party website to make sure I had all the candidates in my head.

Alas, something came up at work and I had to stay a little later than usual. And then my gas light was on and so I had to stop for gas. And traffic was backed up so it took longer than usual. And as soon as I got home I was inundated with kids wanting to play, helping get dinner on the table, eating dinner, discussing the events of the day with the family, etc.